Ethical gifts have been around for years, but how about one that allows the recipient to choose an individual in the developing world to support with a small loan, and then get updates on how they are doing?

There are a number of ways Brits can lend money to, or invest in, people in some of the world's poorest countries who are trying to build a better life for themselves. One that Guardian Money has highlighted before is the "microloans" scheme run by lendwithcare.org, set up by aid organisation Care International UK with backing from the Co-operative Group.

Individuals can choose an entrepreneur to lend money to and help them transform their life. The website is helping people in Benin, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Ecuador, the Philippines and Togo to start or expand their small business. It also offers gift vouchers, starting from £15, and the charity stresses that 100% of the loan goes to the entrepreneur. The recipient of the voucher can visit the lendwithcare website to view the profiles of those looking for finance, and choose who to support – perhaps a fish farmer in Cambodia, a beautician in Togo or a tomato grower in Ecuador.

The money is paid back in instalments. When it has been repaid, you can "reinvest" the same loan in a different entrepreneur, which, says the charity, makes it "the gift that keeps on giving".

Dragons' Den star Deborah Meaden has visited Cambodia to see lendwithcare in action. She said: "Becoming a lender is rewarding and fascinating, so a lendwithcare.org voucher – giving the recipient the chance to also experience this – is an inspired idea for a gift this Christmas." For more information go to lendwithcare.org/gift_vouchers

Alternatively, you could invest in an organisation such as Oikocredit, a co-operative that is one of the world's largest sources of private funding to the microfinance sector. Based in the Netherlands, but with an office near Preston, Lancashire, Oikocredit lends its investors' money to microfinance institutions all over the world. In turn, they dispense "life-changing" loans in countries such as India and Guatemala, with an emphasis on rural areas and women.

Individuals and organisations such as charities can invest by buying "depository receipts". The minimum investment is £150, and those who sign up will enjoy a "modest" financial return; a 2% dividend has been paid almost every year since 1989. Considering that cash Isas pay little more than 3%, it's a small price to pay to help others at little cost to yourself.